On Wednesday the 9th I filled up my diesel truck with diesel fuel. I have the receipt to prove I paid for diesel. I had around 5L of fuel left in the tank plus whatever was in the fuel lines/filters/etc. I drove home and barely drove the next day, maybe 5km total in 2 short trips. I started noticing some rough idling but didn’t think much of it. On Saturday I drove it 10ish km and the misfiring/knocking was louder. On that drive I noticed a lot of white smoke intermittently coming from the exhaust that coinciding with me pressing the accelerator. At that point, I parked it and made an appointment for service and hadn’t driven it until today to get it down to the shop.
The mechanic just called me and said there’s gas in the tank, not diesel. I can’t imagine how this happened other than the gas station accidentally having their diesel tank filled with gas. I did some googling and apparently this is rare but not unheard of. ETA: for clarification, I pumped the fuel myself, but have the receipt for diesel to show I selected that fuel type and was using the specific diesel pump.
Best case scenario the fuel lines get flushed and filters replaced, tank is filled with diesel and I might get off for a couple grand repair bill, and possibly compromised engine. Worst case scenario is my truck is written off as the damages are too costly. I called my insurance and they wont cover it unless the gas station admits to fault, which they have no reason to do. Short of going back there and buying some diesel in a jerry can and hoping the tank hadn’t been refilled since then, I’m unsure of what to do here.
I’m totally at a loss as to next steps. Anyone deal with this or something similar? What would be the best way to get the gas station to look in to this to confirm tank contamination? I’d imagine if they have gas in their diesel tank I wouldn’t be the only one with this issue.
If the station had gas in its diesel tank, unless you are the only person that pumped “diesel” from that station there should be other people with similar complaints. Call the city/town in which you live and let them know the problem and see if other people have complained. If you can’t get any answers that way, call whatever regulatory agency has jurisdiction for the underground tanks and let them know what’s going on. It’s not hard to figure out if the tank has gas in it instead of diesel, and they could do a quick inspection of the station to figure that out really really quick. Gas and diesel have distinctly different odors and just opening the fill cap of the tank would let you know right away if there’s gas there. I work with underground storage tanks and have seen this happen once or twice in my years of doing this.
Go into the gas station and make small talk with the clerk. Then ask them how many people have reported gas in their diesel? You will be able to tell by their reaction if they know something about it. Don’t talk to the owner or manager, talk to a clerk.
Already did that. Clerk had no idea. I filled up on Wednesday, he did say the diesel tank was refilled several days later on the weekend. Manager happened to be there as well and he said they had no complaints either.
I called several environmental agencies and regulatory bodies and they all said deal with the gas station directly. Unless there is a spill it’s not their problem. I was tempted to go there and spray diesel all over the place then report a spill.
I think my only next steps here are to go on some local social media pages and see if anyone else had issues. If not, it appears I need a new mechanic (although the guy I go to is well known as an excellent diesel tech here).
Is the gas station affiliated with one of the major brands? I used to represent some of them in the US and they care a lot about gas stations messing up. If yes, I’d contact them. They likely will want to test the station’s tanks and check the delivery records. Having the wrong contents in a tank may raise a suspicion that the station was getting supplies from an off-brand source, which is a huge no-no.
I was wondering about that too. They only have one diesel pump, and its a diesel/gas combo. But, my receipt clearly states diesel, and has the price for diesel. If you select diesel, even if you lift the gas pump nothing will come out. So, it’s pretty clear that I purchased and pumped what was supposed to be diesel out of the diesel pump.
If you get the vehicle repaired, be sure to keep some contents from the tank. The petroleum company might want to test it. And, even if they don’t, they may quiz you on whether you have the contents. You’re negotiating from a stronger position if you have that.
Yeah I’ve asked the mechanic to hold on to it. Diesel and gas feel quite different to the touch, but not sure how easy it would be to tell the difference if they are somewhat mixed.
Thanks for the advice. Hopefully I’ll hear more tomorrow, and whether or not the vehicle is salvageable. My wife’s engine just died a few weeks ago. I really wasn’t anticipating purchasing two new vehicles in the span of a few weeks. Looks like it may be time to sell one of the children.
I believe you have a dodge 3L. I assume you have to fill up with the small diesel nozzles that won’t fit a gas nozzle, but that maybe a US thing.
The gas will float on top of the diesel and can visually be seen as different. If the station does have gas in the tank, it is still there. Probably not in the same quantity as before their tank was filled, but it will still be there once the fluid settles.
Chances of your engine being good? Near zero… Really depends on how much knock you got and how long it ran. Changes of your fuel pump (assuming CP3), injectors, high pressure line being good? Practically zero.
Worked with someone that had the Jeep with the 3L in it. Engine went bad at about 30k. Dealer replaced it and the person that preps vehicle for customer return proceeded to fill it up with gas. Engine lasted about 10 miles.
I’ve sent fuel samples off for testing. It certainly smells and ignites like gasoline and not diesel.
My mechanic grew up on a farm working on diesels his whole life, later his family owned a gas station and service place. This guy is very familiar with diesel engines. He was initially optimistic we might get away with flushing the lines, replacing filters etc. Did that yesterday and still having issues which suggests more severe engine damage. At this point I’m not optimistic for an easy fix.
I’ve called the gas station every day and haven’t been able to get a hold of the owner. He doesn’t seem keen on returning my call. I’ve driven by and the Diesel pump still seems operational. I’ll be calling a company office today.
If, somehow, I put the wrong fuel in, I’ll take my lumps and own it. I just think the likelihood of that is very low seeing as my receipt clearly shows I used the Diesel pump and was charged for diesel. Will be interesting to see what the lab reports back. I should know in a week or so.